More HP - what is the low hanging fruit? Options

[wayner]

I've got a 1975 2.0 engine on carbs.

Engine is in good shape, but I might go to a 6 in the future. In the mean time where are the biggest HP bangs for the buck for my 2.0?

(Assume everything is stock other than the carbs, and going back to fuel injection is not an option)

Thanks in advance

[wayner]

Aside from the nose of the car, where else do,people mount oil coolers?

Is there a second popular alternative setup?

[Dave_Darling]

Aside from the nose of the car, where else do,people mount oil coolers?

Is there a second popular alternative setup?

The next most popular locations seem to be on the engine lid, or under the rear trunk floor.

The engine lid location keeps your lines short, which is a positive. The cooler can also get a little air flow from the engine cooling fan, drawing air into the engine bay. The downsides are that the cooler is above the engine, which can make oil changes more "interesting", and that you pre-heat a bit of your cooling air and intake air. Also the cooler will live in a moderately-warm environment, reducing its effectiveness somewhat.

Rich at HPH in Redwood City has recommended this type of setup in the past.


The location under the trunk floor keeps everything out of the way. Plus the cooler is pretty close to the same level as the engine sump, meaning you don't have oil moving one way or the other on its own. But under the trunk floor tends to be a very warm environment, with not much air flow. This makes the cooler much less effective. You can combat that to some extent by making the cooler larger, and putting a fan on it, but there's only so much that can be done.

The front mounted cooler is the best location as far as cooling goes. It does have some downsides, including long (more costly) lines, the need to cut holes for the lines, the requirement for ducting to get air in and out of the cooler, and so on. But for cooling, it is absolutely the best.

The cooler in my car is under the rear trunk floor.

--DD